Minister blesses animals in fundraiser for Gardner Animal Control

The Rev. John G. Pastor Jr., right, blesses Bailee, a 14-month-old terrier, as its owners, Sue Sandagon and her grandson, Alex Cramm, both of Gardner, watch.

Animals of all different shapes and sizes were blessed at the annual fundraiser for the Gardner Animal Control Facility this weekend.

The Rev. John G. Pastor Jr. blessed all of the animals in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi.

“St. Francis believed that God created everything, and that there is goodness in everything. He admired and appreciated, and honored animals. So the spirit of Saint Francis is what we are doing today,” said Rev. Pastor.

His service was part of a fundraiser held by the West Broadway facility to help pay off the cumbersome veterinary bills accumulated throughout the year.

“I bless the animals, and my congregation also contributes quite a bit of money toward the homeless animal shelter. That’s one of our missions,” said Rev. Pastor.

Rev. Pastor is the reverend at the Unitarian Universalist Society on Elm Street in Gardner. It holds the fundraiser and the blessing on the Saturday closest to the Feast of St. Francis, which is on Oct. 4 every year. This is the third year the event has been at the shelter.

Bailee, a 14 month-old terrier, arrived with Sue Sandagon and her grandson, Alex Cramm, both from Gardner, to receive her blessing among many other animals on Saturday.

“I come out whenever they have any free craft fairs and stuff, and I said, ‘Oh, well, she can be blessed at the same time,’ ” said Ms. Sandagon.

The pet owners arrive to have their animals blessed because they believe it is good for the animals’ spirit, and believe that all animals should be blessed.

Gail Lucier of Gardner volunteers regularly at the shelter.

“I’ve always wanted to volunteer, and I finally decided to ever since I saw that story in the paper about the pit bulls from Fitchburg. There were four that were found left with no food or water,” said Ms. Lucier.

“That was in the summer, when I saw that. And there was another pit bull that was beaten up,” said Ms. Lucier. “It just made me realize that I want to do something, you know, give back. I don’t know what it was, but that story just ripped my heart out, and I figured it was time to do something good.”

All of the money that is raised goes straight to the Gardner Animal Control Facility. Many people volunteer their time and bring baked goods and crafts to sell.

Many dogs and cats are seen during the blessing, and become adopted.

“I feel really good to be a part of something like this,” said Ms. Lucier. “They give you so much unconditional love that I think people all over the world could learn a lot from that.”

Hope Finch is the office manager at the facility.

“We try to do a bunch of things at the same time to draw in people with different interests, to generate money. It’s all going to vet bills,” said Ms. Finch. “We’ve got some posters on the table of what we are collecting for. There are different animals, with special needs.”

“It’s not going to cover the bills this time. We’ve got more bills than what we’ll take in, I’m sure. There’s this one dog that’s going to be over $2,000 to take care of, but it will make a big dent in it,” she said.

The dog had not been vaccinated by its owner or breeder, and had contracted the canine parvovirus, known as Parvo, which is a highly contagious, life-threatening canine disease.

“This place could really use the publicity, because they really need donations to help out with the medical things that the animals need,” said the reverend.